The She-Devil's Rampage, The Masked Soldier's Resolve
The She-Devil's Rampage, the Masked Soldier's Resolve Conflict Abounds, Intervention Required! Hashi Mokushi knew he is in trouble. He looked behind him as he sprinted at top speeds that he could muster, seeing the black garbed, ninja-esque pursuers not losing ground to him, causing him to swear as he looked back ahead, faintly seeing city lights up ahead. "Of all the times for me to be near a quiet city, it has to be a life or death pursuit!" Hashi comically cried as he kept running away, unintentionally leaking his Spiritual Pressure into the air, something only adept or powerful individuals would've sensed but anyone near the town would feel a slight static electric feeling the air. He was a mere 1/4 of a mile away from the town, but he kept near the forests, not wanting to start a epidemic with the locals or cause harm to them. If only the Punishment Force hadn't been informed... Hashi deftly rebounded a tree, sailing past the pursuers that were chasing after him, while unsheathing his sword, deftly inflicting minor wounds on half of them, causing outcries of pain and suffering as they flew and fell limp against trees, foilage, and grass, before Hashi skidding across the earth on his shoes, the sword held firmly in one hand dripped faintly of blood. "I'll go easy on you, for sake of not putting murder on my head," Hashi said with a light-hearted smile as the Punishment Force Soul Reapers came fast and silent, ensuring for the battle to continue, despite their chances of winning. Feeling a glimmer of spiritual energy in the distance fade in and out, Anna Satonaka left her home located at the top of the largest hill in Hama Town to investigate. "Hm? I don't recognize this person. But by the way their energy is fluctuating, it seems like they're in trouble." Quickly making her way toward the town's gate, Anna sat stood near the edge of town in order to get a better read on the situation at hand. After calming herself, she realized that there were several other spiritual signatures following the one she felt before. "Someone is being chased. I suppose I should go out and help." "Kyaaaaaaaah!" One of the Punishment Force officers launched a descending axe kick towards Hashi's head as he deflected another shuriken sent by one of the remaining soul reapers. Hashi instinctively cocked his head to the side, launching his left hand upwards in a palm heel strike to the heel of the Stealth Force Reaper, causing the tendons in his foot to snap and halt the force of the kick entirely. As the Reaper grunted with pain, Hashi took hold of the injured heel before throwing him around in the air, using the momentum his enemy used against him, and threw him towards the now leaping ninja-esque attack with his own comrade. The result caused the two to crash into each other with a audible cracking sound before they both fell down to the ground limply, joining the rest of their comrades in unconsciousness. "Ho," Hashi said wiping his brow, before examining the small amount of sweat that accumulated on his hand, saying aloud, "I must say, they have gotten better. They actually made me work for it this time around...," he paused as he felt a subtle spiritual pressure bearing his way, and moving surprisingly fast. "Crap," he hissed to himself, looking around at the broken trees, sword slashes in the bark, and small craters abound with unconscious and wounded Punishment Forces, he scratched his head as he sweatdropped nervously, "how am I supposed to explain all of this?!" Making her way toward the location of now still spiritual signature, Anna jumped from tree to tree causing the branches to snap under the pressure from her speed all the while surveying the area seeing various signs of a struggle all over. "What in the world happened here? Someone's rampaging outside of my town? I'll be sure to deal out swift justice and get back to training the others." As she sailed over a nearby clearing, Anna spotted a field full of craters and lifeless bodies sprawled out all over. "Hm?" Landing in the field she walked over to one of the unconcious bodies and leaned down to examine the clothing. "Ah. Its one of those deals. I see. Very well, I suppose I will just have to find the culprit in their stead." Hashi had a cloud of despair hanging over his head, seeing that the oncoming Spiritual Pressure and presence was none other than the infamous Anna of the Satonaka Clan. The resident She-Devil of the town just beyond is infamous for her array of skills and combat prowess, something he was hoping to avoid. "Why me?" He had a comical trail of tears run down his cheeks as the cloud of despair turned into a maelstrom of violet space, "WHY ME?!?!?!?!" Turning to face the young man behind her, Anna arched an eyebrow. "So you were the cause of all of the commotion? What gives you little brat?" Dropping the arm of the body she was still holding onto back to the ground she sighed and paused for a moment as though she expected something to happen before taking a step toward the young man in front of her. "What's your name? Be quick, how you respond will determine what happens next." Hashi began sweatdropping immediately, waving his arms in protest as he backed away slowly, "H-H-Hey now! C'mon! They started it! I didn't mean to do anything...," he felt like a fish, struggling for breath on a beach with no moisture with how pathetic his pleas were. He did however become slightly a little more comfortable with giving out his name, saying, "Hashi...Hashi Mokushi." "Hashi was it?" Anna retorted. "Tell me. How is that you heard of me? I left Soul Society long ago and you look like a fresh face. Going with that, I'm pretty sure no one I know has given you clearance to enter Hama Town." Anna seemed more concerned with the fact that this stranger who defeated all of these opponents on his own knows her name rather than the fact that he actually defeated all of them. Can she read minds TOO?! Hashi thought morosely, before he cleared his throat, putting on a nonchalant smile albeit nervously as he explained while scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Well...I've heard OF you and I actually studied on you and a few other legends within the Gotei 13. Your skill in combat and tenacious personality has always been one I've come to fear and respect." He blinked as he looked onwards towards the town, still a good quarter of a mile away, before looking back at her questionably, "We're not IN your town specifically, but I can make sure I don't beat up Punishment Forces so close to it in the future..." Stomping on the ground, Anna sneered. "ALL of this area is MY domain! If there is a problem with that then you are free to leave just as easily as you came in. Taking a breath, Anna then smiled. "By the way, you don't have to actually fear me. I'm about as nice as they come. What you heard are probably nothing but rumors. So don't pay them any attention." "Sorry maam!" Hashi nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw her stomping on the ground. The image of his spine being stomped on briefly entered his mind before he shook his head, quickly discarding the idea. "Oh," Hashi breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard her proclamation of kindness, smiling cheekily, "and here I thought you were an utter bitch that ruled this town like a tyrant and stepped on the fingers of all the beggers around here! HAHAHA!" Hashi laughed out, before he realized the joke wasn't so funny...least of all to the woman 'self-proclaimed' ruler of the town. Crap, he thought as he paled in fear of what she would do next. Biting her lip and forming a fist, Anna smiled although one could easily tell she was holding herself back. "Now now. Let's not use such words. Otherwise, someone may end up getting killed today. And neither one of us would want that right?" "No sir, maam, ugh, crap!" Hashi uttered out a series of half-hearted replies but she began to seriously scare the crap out of him, sweat poured down in sheets from his face and neck. After considering his chances of living if he continued to speak with her he backpedaled, scratching the back of his neck as he did so. "Y'know, I think I'm gonna go, sorry for stepping on your kingdom, bye!" With that he hightailed away comically with a cloud of dust in his wake as he ran as fast as he could away from her, unintentionally kicking up the earth and splattering it across her figure. "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna-," he repeated over and over as a waterfall of tears came off his eyes as he comically retreated away as he most likely, if not inadverdently, caused one of the most terrifying figures of Soul Reaper legend to be pissed off at him. "Tch." Anna smiled as her hair began gaining a silver coloration. Hopping from one foot to the next as she wiped the dirt from her body, she sighed as she became visibly angered at the actions of the young man. Surging forward, she rapidly caught up to youngster, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you're going to run. Make sure that you're ''much ''faster than the one you're trying to escape from." "CRAP!" Hashi decided that mere sprinting wasn't going to cut it, having then shrugged her hand off and began to rapidly employ Flash Step, his body blurred and emanated a soft 'splashing' sound in his wake upon doing each one. He used the technique with great skill, hoping that if he moved far enough away, she'd forget about him. "Like that will happen," he muttered grimly as he looked behind his shoulder, hoping he fled away far enough and that he'd lose sight of his pursuer. Smiling, Anna stopped in front of the man as he continued his escape. "You know, you really should stop trying to run. Just beg me to forgive you by groveling like a tiny dog and maybe I'll let you go now. Just....maybe." She laughed as she began cracking her knuckles. Hashi scraped his feet across the air before halting before her. Chuckling, he said as he raised a hand up to his face, "As much as I'd like to do that," he narrowed his eyes and spoke firmly, "even I have standards! Bakudo #21, Sekienton!" After his declaration of his technique, a puff of red smoke exhaled in the area, quickly covering any form of visibility before he followed up with another Kido spell, "Hado #33," a dull glow of blue light could be faintly seen from Hashi's left palm before spreading out in a wide arc, billowing away the smoke before quickly overtaking everything in its path, "SOKATSUI!" Quickly bringing her blade up to her front, Anna deflected the flames of the kido spell to either side of her, scorching her arms in the process. "You'll pay for that." Anna sneered as she tapped on the ground with her foot before shooting forward toward Hashi's location. As Anna reared the young shinigami, the sound of the earth cracking could finally be heard. "I'll make this as painful as possible, just for you Young Hashi." Anna smiled as she brought her blade down to slice the man's back. Hashi's form could be seen looking dazed from the cut that tore through his back as his body flayed blood in multiple directions, his eyes glazing, his form falling limp...until it was a mere blur in his wake. Hashi descended upon her from above, unsheathing his sword in mid-flight preforming Iaido with a high sped slicing maneuver towards her left shoulder as he would somersault behind her, "I plan to not inflict too much pain upon you, and leave quietly, but it seems like I'll have no choice in the matter!" Smiling with a devilish grin, Anna quickly dropped her body low to the ground as if she were falling forward before shooting away from Hashi's position. "Little brat. I'm gonna make you wish you took the first stroke." Using her hand as a focus, Anna pivoted her body in a circle to face Hashi once more. "Looks like I'll have to use that style for now." Dropping her body into a free fall once again, Anna created a small platform of reishi behind her as she placed her blade back in its sheath before drawing it slightly as she kicked off. "Kōuno Furasshu!" Hashi looked at the inhumanly strong woman descending to preform a maneuver that he'd prefer not to take head on. However, he used a pulse of spiritual energy to propel himself towards her, moving at high speeds himself, before maneuvering himself into a position to initiate a technique of his own. "Way of the Onmitsukido #5, Sutorobo Hanten!" As she would move into to strike, Hashi would initiate a feint of a attack towards her, moving his blade at high speeds himself until he would use a Flash Step within the moment her attack came close within his body's range. This Flash Step was faster than the rest he had at his disposal, allowing him to move at a hyper movement to move just out of the one attack, before reappearing back within range, slashing his own Zanpakuto in a horizontal arc across her chest upwards, intending on cutting her open or at least cause her to revert out of whatever technique stance she assumed. Utilizing the momentum from her own technique, Anna placed her blade in front of her throat as Hashi's blade came up her chest. "Not bad boy. Not bad. I even liked that technique a bit so I may give it a go myself later." Anna smiled as she saved the motions required to complete such a feat in her mind for later usage. "However..." Now vanishing from sight, Anna proceeded to create several afterimages of herself because of her speed that all charged at Hashi as the real Anna quickly slipped into the shadows awaiting her chance to make the next attack. "None of them are real," Hashi thought aloud as he could feel no tremendous Spiritual Pressure nor pure killing intent coming from the "clones". "Bakudo #26, Kyokko!" He uttered with purpose, a shimmer of light cast over his body before he disappeared entirely, moving away from the copies and hiding his Spiritual Pressure altogether. "I can't take her head on without her using her Zanjutsu mastery. I have no idea how many skills or techniques she possesses from just her sword forms. As much as I hate the thought, I'll have to play dirty and outwit her with some unorthodox techniques," Hashi thought to himself, tactically planning out his next moves as he hid in the shadows with his Bakudo shielding him from senses and sight, "Now...I'll just wait for her to reveal herself."